CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS | Get The Triangle's top stories directly to your inbox every Friday, THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT DREXEL UNIVERSITY SINCE 1926. Each third-person narrative offers an accessible look at migration under duress, in which the behavior of familiar adults changes unpredictably, strangers exploit the vulnerabilities of transients, and circumstances seem driven by random luck. They commiserate about the assumptions that teachers and librarians have made about books they would connect with—books about slavery, struggle, and street life. Jordan Banks takes readers down the rabbit hole and into his mostly white prep school in this heartbreakingly accurate middle-grade tale of race, class, microaggressions, and the quest for self-identity. Then, to make matters worse, it begins to rain. Mahmoud eventually concludes that visibility is best: “See us….Hear us. illustrated by “People don’t really hear you when they think they’re being attacked,” we concluded. For Jordan, who is African-American, starting at a new school that is primarily Caucasian was definitely going to be a challenge for him. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was how reading this graphic novel to myself, on the couch next to my 2nd grade child, would spontaneously spark conversations about racial bias, stereotyping, and microaggressions. In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? “The difference is that Ashley wouldn’t give those gifts to just anyone who is Black.”. “Why did we assume Ashley was being racist?” I asked out loud. Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw feels like he’s been running ever since his dad pulled that gun on him and his mom—and used it. influencers in the know since 1933. Trouble signing in? She needs to process this scene longer. Characters are black by default; those few white people in Ghost’s world are described as such. And with a Newbery award winning graphic novel like New Kid, the clever arrangement of words and pictures, the contrast between what’s in a frame and what’s outside one, and the carefully chosen details in each panel’s drawings invite the kind of critical thinking and self-reflection that are part of any meaningful reading experience. “New Kid” by Jerry Craft hit the shelves last Feb., yet the buzz about this graphic novel has yet to die down. illustrated by When the librarian recommends books about the mean streets to Black students, she’s surrounded with bland smiley face emojis. As Patrick Gall wrote in his Horn Book review , “Jordan’s father is less comfortable with immersing his son in a predominantly white school and worries about RAD’s lack of diversity. Together we compared the librarian’s gesture to Ashley’s. CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES, by by Magazine Subscribers (How to Find Your Reader Number). Like anyone who has ever moved to a new town or school, it makes sense to be nervous entering unfamiliar territory. RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2017. Categories: Beginning June 26th 2017, your browser may no longer allow you to access your accounts online. Jerry Craft. Thank you for signing up! Help us.” With this book, Gratz accomplishes a feat that is nothing short of brilliant, offering a skillfully wrought narrative laced with global and intergenerational reverberations that signal hope for the future. Since Drew and Jordan come from similar areas and are both new to the school, the two quickly develop a bond. But reading a graphic novel to yourself, near a younger reader, can invite those same (and new) conversations in a refreshingly spontaneous way. One of my favorite scenes from New Kid is when Jordan Banks is waiting for his Dad (who is running late) to pick him up (pages 180-187). Still peeking over my shoulder, my 2nd grader stops me from turning the page. Why can’t she admit that she’s been using the wrong name?” I expected a typical 8-year-old response like, “She’s mean!” But I was surprised to hear her recall a time at school when a peer did not appreciate her own critical feedback. tell their own compelling stories in graphic form, the benefits of reading aloud to children, a graphic novel that addresses those ideas. It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds! Just a few pages after the library scene, those same smiley emojis surround Ashley, who has just secretly gifted some questionable items to Drew: a Black Santa cookie, a gift card to KFC, and basketball shaped cookies. illustrated by BAM! ; Even at the book fair, there were tons of books highlighting heroes and characters that were mainly Caucasian while there was a separate section labeled, “African-American Literature.” This section showcased titles such as “Escaped from Jail,” “Escaped from Slavery” and “Escaped.” This scene was quite powerful as Craft was making a point that there is still a lack of books that feature people of color in positive and relatable situations. But just when Jordan thinks that it can’t get any worse . Each traverses a landscape ruled by a dictator and must balance freedom, family, and responsibility. His dad’s been in jail three years now, but Ghost still feels the trauma, which is probably at the root of the many “altercations” he gets into at middle school. Even though this book deserved every award it has received, the middle-grade plot is what truly resonates with readers. ‧ Craft has a way of including themes of racism, racial identity, adolescence and humor with a side of brevity, that is perfect for his target audience. Jason Reynolds Our jaws clench tighter and tighter as we hear the wrong names in the hallways, classrooms, and fields. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). twelve-year-old Jordan Banks, an African American boy from Washington Heights and new kid at the uber -privileged, prep school Riverdale Academy. Jason Reynolds, by I also knew there was more to the teacher’s labeling Jordan as angry, so I pointed out the drawing of a version of Jordan that fits the “angry Black guy” stereotype—no shirt, tattoos all over his chest, dark shades. Not to mention, several instances where his homeroom teacher calls his friend, Drew, “Deandre” multiple times and does not seem to care about the negative effect that it has on Drew or Jordan. Jerry Craft shares school experience and love of drawing with main character in ‘New Kid’ ... Jordan Banks, is a lot like his sons and himself as a boy. . by Each initially leaves by boat, struggles between visibility and invisibility, copes with repeated obstacles and heart-wrenching loss, and gains resilience in the process. I had heard on a podcast that Craft uses inventive graphic novel devices to tell a story about middle schooler Jordan Banks transferring to a prestigious private school where he is one of the few students of color. Pre-publication book reviews and features keeping readers and industry If you want opportunities to hear your child’s thoughts about an issue or experience, continue to read any books that engage with those topics to your child. Craft’s clever use of emojis got us examining our own implicit biases as we turned the pages. & The librarian’s attempts at connection are perfunctory and superficial. Not surprisingly, my 2nd grader isn’t as compelled to read over my shoulder when I’m holding a text dense with prose. Jason Reynolds She had a lot to say about the limited range of topics covered in the books she’s read with main characters of color. Like Drew and Jordan, my daughter and I had been conditioned at this point in the story to interpret those emoji faces as a signal that Ashley was making racist assumptions about what a Black student would want as a gift. He is self-focused enough that secondary characters initially feel one-dimensional, Coach in particular, but as he gets to know them better, so do readers, in a way that unfolds naturally and pleasingly. Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Gene Luen Yang, New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real, from award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft. Alexander Nabaum. Excellent for older middle grade and above in classrooms, book groups, and/or communities looking to increase empathy for new and existing arrivals from afar. Craft mentions that the story was influenced by his own experiences growing up.